We have been "lovers of the hunt" for over 35 years.

We initially started out purchasing necessities for our apartment, or toys for the kids, etc. Every once in a while, we'd hit a bargain - something we did not need but was priced so low, we had to take a chance.

We once bought a library-style table, low and with 8 legs. It was treated poorly, not with respect, poor thing, and needed a lot of TLC and time. We did not have much money but those things we could provide.

My husband saw the tag first and inquired if that was the price for the table, or had another item been there and its tag left behind. The kind lady said "no, that's for the table and anyone who is willing to clean 'er up, could have it." We did not even attempt to dicker. Would you - if it was priced at ten cents?! Yes, we got it for one thin time.

Went home, checked in the storage area and found some stain, pretty sure it was mahongany. We had stripper too and used it to remove the residue. It took 4-5 days, different processes, and a lot of elbow grease. It turned out to be very lovely, lots of grain showing and loads of character. Our neighbor's rummage sale was on Saturday and what the heck, we'd put it out there

It was barely dry and I used my hair dryer to make sure nothing came off on a potential buyer's hands. We put a hefty price tag on it - $60.00. It got some admiring glances but it was almost 10:00 before a serious looker came by. They offered us $50 and we jumped at it; even loaded it into their car. Heck, we would have delivered it to Idaho for them.

Now keep in mind, this was a long time back and our rent was $65, so this was incredible.

From that time on, we've been happy to turn something ugly into a thing of beauty.

I remember a time when we went to a yard sale with my father-in-law, Harry. He always thought we were a bit daft but chuckled when we'd tell of our success stories. Well, we found this very old chair, incredibly old tapestry seat, rather Oriental in style. The price was only $5.00 - but the downside was that it had only one arm attached, the second one lay on the ground. We bought it, went home and dear hubby was able to re-attach it.

This time we had our own yard sale and sold it for $45. We were so happy.

That is until we saw it at an antique store in Illinois for $225! It even had a name on it - evidently made by some very well-respected furniture manufacturer.

The funny thing about antiquers is that they are very much like gamblers. They talk about the really victories - the times they have turned pennies into dollars. You rarely hear about the 3,000 basement items that are "mistakes" and will be sold at a to-be-determined date.

I have even been asked if I would not feel better about returning to the scene of the crime and making things right. That means, would I have less guilt if I gave some of the profit to the poor sap that let the item go for such a paltry sum. Well, I will be glad to do that, IF I can go to all the folks that sold me something for $5 that is languishing in the garage and ask them for my money back because it did not work out. Hmmm.

I have often wondered if I would stop "the hunt" if I had a lot of money. Well, I do know one gentleman "hunter" that purchased a picture for $20 at a flea market and it was later sold at a New York auction house for over $800,000. I figured I'd never see him again. But a year after this accomplishment, I ran into him at a flea market.

He looked the same, tennies, jeans and t-shirt with Donald Duck on it. I commented that I thought he'd be done with the flea-market-thing. He laughed and said why would I ever stop having fun? So, I guess he's right. While we might "up the ante" a bit and aim for higher-priced treasures, the thrill would be the same. It will never end! Thank goodness!